Millionaire wants to let date know he's the real deal

FAIRBANKS (AP) -- Terry Stahlman didn't want his date to think he was a fake millionaire, so he came up with a pile of money to prove it.

Stahlman was asked by Club Detour promoter Rick Mensik to be his eligible bachelor for ''Who Wants To Have Dinner With A Millionaire?'' an idea based on the television show.

Small-business owner Tamara Spaulding, 30, one of three finalists Friday, won the date with Stahlman, $100 cash and several gift certificates. She won by answering three television-related trivia questions. A Club Detour audience served as judges.

Stahlman, 55, who owns strip clubs in Anchorage and Fairbanks, wanted the women to know he was the real deal. He brought $1 million to Fairbanks early last week to prove he had the money. Stahlman and a friend carried it in luggage on a flight from Anchorage. The money was spread out on a pool table at Ozzy's bar for about two-and-a-half hours.

Stahlman was going to take the money to Club Detour for Friday's contest but got nervous as word spread. So, he put it in a bank.

Stahlman said he insisted on bringing real cash so people know he's a real millionaire, not ''just another Outside paper millionaire.''

''I expected him to bring neat little blocks of 100s,'' Mensik said. ''That wasn't impressive for him so he brought a lot of different denominations.''

Three-hundred thousand dollars worth was in stock certificates. Stahlman topped the money pile off with an eight ball and diamond jewelry, Mensik said.

Stahlman's quest to find a wife was featured in Alaska Men magazine, which described him as ''Alaska's bad boy with a heart of gold.'' He's a single father of two children.

''My hours are irregular at best and a lot of women just wouldn't be able to handle that,'' Stahlman told Alaska Men. ''But the woman (who) loves me and my children and doesn't care what I do for a living will live like a queen.''

Spaulding, who makes money by selling roses in bars, said she knows Stahlman from her days in Anchorage. She said she isn't looking for love like the gold-digging would-be brides on television.